Sale Of Lots Holding Up Park Plans

MAITLAND — The city's latest park war is threatening to delay construction of Brookside park.

The battle surfaced Monday when council member Robert Breaux accused residents Pushpa and Brij Seth of ''holding the city hostage'' because they won't sell six lots needed for the park.

The Seths, as well as other residents of The Oaks subdivision, say they want the city's guarantee of an adequate buffer between the park and the subdivision.

The 26-acre park on the southwest side of the city off Mayo Avenue borders the upper-middle-class subdivision. Buffers such as trees, shrubs and walls help diffuse noise and other annoyances such as lights.

At Monday's meeting, the council agreed to let City Attorney H.A. Langston negotiate an agreement with the Seths that could eliminate a costly legal battle to take the land.

Homeowners say their distrust of the city is justified. They point to Lake Minnehaha park with its bright nighttime lights that nearby residents constantly complain about, the lack of buffer requirements in the city code and the fact that anything can happen because the final design has not been adopted.

Mayor Darcy Bone agreed with Breaux and said the Seths are being selfish and unfair. He said the residents should fulfill their obligations by building a wall along the boundary between the park and subdivision. The wall requirement was part of an agreement between the homeowners and developer.

Breaux also argued that setting aside a specific width for a buffer ''is out. The trend is look at functional needs and design a buffer around that.''

Allowing the Seths to establish a buffer requirement would mean their rights superseded all others, Breaux said.

Preliminary designs for the park, which has been one of the most debated issues in recent city history, include at least a 50-foot buffer between the park and the subdivision.

The park will have tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic tables and other features residents say will create a lot of noise, traffic and bright lights.

Of the six lots the Seths own, two are vital to the park design. The other four probably would stay vacant as a buffer. The city offered to pay $8,500 per lot to the Seths, but they refused and did not make a counteroffer, Langston said.

Brij Seth said they are not after the money, only the assurances the subdivision will be adequately protected from the park.